Wednesday, 18 January 2012

The grassroots contest welcomes writers back from strike

Literary Star Search, which has been described by newly appointed spokesman and Abuja-based journalist, PR practitioner and publisher of Housing Circuit magazine, Seun Jegede, as truly grassroots contest, has congratulated all Nigerians, especially writers on the solidarity expressed for the survival of the Nigeria people and the strengthening of democracy in the country during the strike protest over subsidy removal. Jegede noted in a statement that with the protest over subsidy Nigerians would seem to have cast overboard the negative tag of docility in their inability to confront those who rule over them to ask hard questions how public affairs are run in the country.

He commended the Nigerian people for standing up to their rulers and insisting on their inalienable rights to hold government accountable. Jegede then urged Nigerian writers to seize the gauntlet by writing masterpiece short stories for the literary contest that appropriately capture the peculiar Nigerian ethos in charting a way forward for the country away from under-development to the country of their dream where writers can practice their literary craft and be amply rewarded as a way of overcoming the challenges or hardships a deregulated economy may foist on them. He further called on writers to take the opportunity of Literary Star Search contest to realise the fruits of their creative labour.

As a way of boosting writers’ image as community leaders, Jegede disclosed that Literary Star Search’s parent company, Creative Alliance, was shopping hard for corporate sponsors and partners to make the contest truly grassroots. He stated that apart from awarding N1 million grand prize money for the best short story, the winner will be assisted with a further N.5 million to develop a community project, preferably stocking a public school library in his or her alma mater so as to help indigent students have access to reading materials.

Jegede also restated the goals of Literary Star Search contest to include nurturing, promoting and rewarding to raise the profile of Nigerian writers and also providing avenues for them to express themselves creatively. The first and second runners-up to the grand prize winner will go home with N300,000 and N200,000 respectively while the best 25 short stories will be published in a collection to called Stories Nigeriana. Writers that make it into this collection will be promoted in reading tours. Jegede, therefore, advised writers to direct their enquiries on how to be part of Literary Star Searchcontest to visit: www.creativeallianceng.com and www.literarystarsearch.blogspot.com.